3 Years Living Fully Off-Grid in a Tiny House

Why This Couple Sold Their Tiny House After 3 Years Living Off Grid.Pat & Mel built this off-grid tiny house as a way to stop paying rent, and to start living a simple, minimalist lifestyle. They lived in it for 3 years while it was parked on a friend’s land, but they recently decided to sell the tiny home and buy a house because it was cheaper than buying vacant land.

Sound weird? Here’s why: the down payment on a piece of land in Ontario is often 35%, while the cost of a down payment on a home is often as low as 5%. So even though they might be buying a home that’s more expensive than just land, it’s easier to buy the home.

They built their tiny house themselves and designed it to be fully off-grid with a wood stove for heat, solar panels for electricity, propane for hot water and cooking, and they collected rainwater for all of their water needs. They used a composting toilet (Nature’s Head) since they didn’t have access to a septic system.

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Living in a tiny house allowed Pat & Mel to save money, and to live with the bare essentials, which they found very pleasant. They felt that they didn’t spend as much time and money shopping for things they didn’t need.read more(Exploring Alternatives).

They did have some challenges, including a week without water during their first winter when the pipe between the trailer and house froze. And they also sometimes found it difficult to entertain large groups of people, or to host a dinner party in such a small space.